The Forest of the Death
by EphemeralSakura
Summary: Team 7 fic. They return to the Forest of the Death and Sakura can't help but to be taken back to her first chunin exam.


**A/N:** I wrote this a looong time ago... I tried to fix some things but... The ending is just too weird. Still, the middle isn't that bad. Enjoy it!

Ghosts will be waiting in the shadows for us.

We must be careful not to bother the dead.

It was unbelievable how that place was still used. None of the ninjas who once were trapped inside that forest prison believed it was a good idea to keep that place as one of the chunin exam's stages. It was ridiculous to keep sending the children to that place. A place where few survived and all of them got traumatized. A place full of dangers and a place where there are no laws. The Forest of Death. The perfect place for hiding a secret.

Even after the one who loved that place the most passed away, the forest was kept in the minds of the creators of the exam. It was such a dark place, where death could be found climbing over trees or even crawling on the ground. Giant Snakes, monsters, traps and other ninjas were some of the reasons for keeping a good distance from that place. Yet what frightened the most a certain team; had nothing to do with those deadly creatures. For them, the biggest trauma was resting on the memories of the old days.

After long years, the team 7 was once again back to that horrible place. As high ranked ninjas, they were selected to help in the latest edition of the chunnin exam that would be hosted by the Hidden Leaf. The three of them would, once again be entering that hell. That same team who once had their lives turned upside down in a period shorter than 5 days. There, they have learned what fear meant; they have learned how insignificant a human being can be; they have learned the meaning of sacrifice.

Walking once again through those same trees, where so much had happened and where so many screams had been heard; was something that brought shivers to the pinkette's body. She was covering a very familiar sector while the rest of her team was busy with other places and comfortable wasn't the word she would describe herself at that moment. Sakura was the one with more experiences inside that forest, since she was the only one who actually tried the chunnin exam again. She was the one who knew that place and its crimes better than anyone. She had been there again. Yet, the first time is always unforgettable.

The medical nin was walking over some giant tree branches when something hit her head. Nothing really physical to hurt her body, still, powerful enough to make her stop and, unfortunately, remember. Pain, blood, tears, screams. That was the place where that snake had left a mark on Sasuke's neck. A mark that would change his life forever; a mark that would give him what he wanted the most: power. A mark that would take him away from home. Away from her.

The girl kneeled near the place where the one she loved was once agonizing and she was just watching; just crying. She felt useless while he was in pain. He had held her hand and allowed his head to be pulled into her arms. In her eyes, there were still marks of that day. She could swear those marks were still on her skin. But it was all an illusion. It was all just a trick played by the forest.

Looking a little forward, she could review the scene when Naruto was almost turned into snake food and his body was falling straight to the ground. That tree still had that scar from the kunai she threw to hold him. The scar was still there, she could swear. Or maybe it was just another one of her mind's tricks. She sighed. What else could she do? Cry? There would be no use for that anymore.

Sakura, after biting her lower lip, decided to leave that part behind. It was already over anyways and there was no need for her to keep remembering that scene again. However, eve if she had managed to get rid of those memories, the girl with pink hair couldn't help but to falling into a time vortex created by her own subconscious. As she passed through the same spots where she had to carry those two unconscious bodies to the safety of some roots, Sakura was fully taken back to her first chunin exam.

'No, this can't be happening again. It's already over.'

She tried to repeat that in her mind to calm down her heartbeats. They were faster than when Sasuke left the village. She didn't want to see that same place where it all happened. Not again. But she did. Her feet unconsciously dragged her body to that same place where she first took care of her team. Where she saw a good friend risking his own life for her. Where she finally understood the meaning of being a ninja.

As Sakura approached the center of that clearing, she could swear that the reminiscent of her long pink hair were still there. Those soft pink locks would be forever laying on that dirty ground. Her feet couldn't hold her own weight anymore and her knees were at the encounter of the ground. Why was she feeling like that? It was all in the past already. But Sakura couldn't simply forget it. That wound was still bleeding somehow.

The pinkette stood more than enough time in there. She seemed paralyzed by fear and she wouldn't be back that soon. She remembered. His eyes wouldn't let her forget. The one she loved with all her heart had finally got rid of that state of coma and had decided to join her in the battle. He saw her wounds and she could still hear his demoniac voice.

" Sakura... Who did this to you?"

Stop.

Please.

She wasn't ready to live it all again, yet her eyes were still showing Sasuke walking towards that sound ninja with those marks all over his body.

 _Crack._

The sound of broken bones echoed once again in that forest.

Her eyes were already full of tears in their edges and she pulled herself together once again to stop him. Sakura ran after the shadows of her past and finally realized how weak she felt. She couldn't do anything again. She couldn't drive him out of his way; of his revenge. It was all coming back to her life.

" Sakura!"

She kept her eyes closed as the memories travelled around her mind, making her whole body tremble.

"Sakura-chan!"

The little girl had both of her knees on the floor and her hands were covering both of her ears.

"Sakura!"

His voice brought her back to the reality.

She wasn't in a distant past anymore. Sakura was back to her own time when the war had already ended and her beloved team mate had come back. Her green eyes were widened as she looked at the raven haired boy and the blonde hyperactive ninja. They were fine; they were older.

" Sakura-chan! What happened?!"

" did someone attacked you?"

No word came from her mouth. She simply wiped her tears and gave them what she could call a smile.

" I'm fine boy… We should… We should finish this already... This place brings me bad memories."

"Sakura-chan…

None of them fell for it. In fact, it is possible to say that they even knew why she was acting like that, after all, the things that happened in that forest weren't just light memories that will disappear with the time, no. Those things changed their lives, they opened their eyes to the future and they left huge scars in their memories. However, even with the scars from the past, they looked forward. They looked forward to escape from their own pasts, but the memories will always haunt them.

The two male ninjas decided to leave their teammate with her own memories. She was the only one who could heal herself at that moment and, keep bothering her would only bring those emerald eyes more tears. They were going to leave her with her own feelings. With her own memories. With her own darkness.

" I'm sorry Sasuke-kun... Naruto... I couldn't save you."

She sighed and mumbled such words as low as possible so no one could hear her.

They all did the same: they hid their regrets inside. No one heard and no one would. It was all in the past. It was all in the forest.

 _ **The End.**_


End file.
